Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether reducing incidents of negligent care will be the primary focus of the Government’s proposed package of reforms aimed at reducing costs in medical negligence litigation.

    Ben Gummer

    Over the past 10 years claimant legal costs as a percentage of damages paid by the National Health Service have increased from 32% to 52%. We believe that claimant legal costs are disproportionate to the value of the damages paid, sometimes representing up to 299% for lower value claims, and disproportionate to the defendant costs. Ultimately this all comes out money for front line services. The proposal for fixed recoverable cost in lower value clinical negligence claims was suggested by Lord Justice Jackson in his report Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales.

    The Department is working closely with partners and interested parties to develop a proposal to introduce fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence claims. The Department’s proposal in the consultation is a maximum threshold level of £250,000, based on Lord Justice Jackson’s original proposal and with a view to covering at least 80% of all claims. We welcome views on the proposal from all sectors. The results of a pre-consultation exercise with a number of key stakeholders, including representatives of claimant lawyers, and the consultation documentation, including the Impact Assessment, will be published early 2016 subject to relevant Committee clearances.

    The level of potential savings will ultimately depend upon the final maximum threshold level proposed. By making legal costs proportionate to the damages paid we would hope to save circa £80 million per annum. The Department is also working with various clinical groups looking at how the current level of incidents can be reduced. In terms of maternity our target to reduce avoidable harm by 50% and save 6,000 lives.

    The Department sees the fixed recoverable cost work as part of an overall strategic approach aimed at improving patient safety, improving customer care and improving litigation. Improving patient safety and reducing the incidents of harm is a key element of this.

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the timeframe for repairing flood damage to the A591 in Cumbria.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport is providing funding of up to £2 million to help both Cumbria County Council and Lancashire County Council assess the local highway networks for which they are responsible for the damage caused by Storm Desmond. In respect to the A591 this will be for Cumbria County Council to determine the options for the repair of this road to ensure it can be opened as quickly as possible.

  • Andy Burnham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Burnham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Burnham on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff there were in the UK Border Force and its predecessor in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13, (e) 2013-14, (f) 2014-15 and (g) 2015-16; and what the UK Border Force’s planned total staff complement is for 2016-17.

    Mrs Theresa May

    The Border Force workforce is drawn from two precursor organisations: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Immigration Service. Border Force was established in its current form in March 2012 and since that time the workforce has ranged from approximately 7800 – 8100 in full-time equivalents.

    The detailed breakdown requested is as follows (all figures are full-time equivalents):

    March 2010 4506 – UKBA

    4639 – HMRC (transferred to UKBA 1st April 2010)

    March 2011 8269 – UKBA

    March 2012 7846 – Border Force

    March 2013 8123 – Border Force

    March 2014 8044 – Border Force

    March 2015 8153 – Border Force

    Workforce numbers for FY16/17 have not yet been finalised.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff in his Department and non-departmental public bodies receive (a) home to work travel allowance, (b) a car allowance and (c) subsidised health insurance.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    There are no staff employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) who are in receipt of (a) home to work travel allowance, (b) a car allowance and (c) subsidised health insurance. This is also the case for FCO Services, the British Council, Wilton Park Executive Agency, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the Great Britain China Centre.

    To obtain information for local staff employed directly by our overseas embassies and missions would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will implement a treatment pathway for people who suffer from lipoedema to allow such people to receive liposuction on the NHS.

    Jane Ellison

    There are several different treatments available for the management of lipoedema such as compression therapy, exercise and massage. There is limited evidence on the efficacy of liposuction for the treatment of lipoedema, and it is not routinely available on the National Health Service.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding was allocated to the counter-proliferation programme in each of the last six financial years; and how much funding has been allocated to that programme for the 2016-17 financial year.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The current allocation for the FCO Counter Proliferation Programme in 2016/17 is £3,490,591. Figures for the amount spent in previous years are provided below:

    2015/16 – £2,495,771 (subject to end of financial year adjustments)
    2014/15 – £1,616,576
    2013/14 – £1,965,240
    2012/13 – £3,133,999
    2011/12 – £3,252,471
    2010/11 – £2,416,828

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish a list of the people who attended the Anti-Corruption Summit on 12 May 2016.

    Matthew Hancock

    A list of attendees at the Anti-Corruption Summit has now been published on gov.uk and laid in the library of the House.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he will publish the childhood obesity strategy.

    Jane Ellison

    Our Childhood Obesity Strategy will be launched in the summer.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-09-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that taxes are displayed on fuel purchase receipts.

    Jane Ellison

    There is no legislative framework for purchase receipts, which are simply an acknowledgment of payment. There is VAT legislation on when an invoice must be provided. This states that VAT-registered businesses are only obliged to provide invoices to other VAT-registered businesses. Expanding the information that must be provided on VAT invoices to cover other taxes and duties, or requiring invoices to be provided to private motorists as well as businesses, would increase administrative burdens for retailers. The Government therefore has no plans to implement this proposal.

  • Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints relating to the implementation of charging for the 2012 statutory maintenance scheme have been received by (a) the Child Maintenance Service and (b) Child Maintenance Options.

    Priti Patel

    (a) The information requested is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    (b) Child Maintenance Options (CM Options) is a free service that provides impartial information and support to help separated parents make decisions about their child maintenance arrangements. They are also the gateway to the statutory Child Maintenance Service, ensuring parents who wish to access the 2012 Scheme are making a fully informed decision and have considered making their own arrangements first.

    CM Options will provide information on the charging associated with applications made to the 2012 scheme, but any dissatisfaction in relation to collections charges is directed to the Child Maintenance Service to respond.